Line of Fire
by dreamer82687
Summary: Fox and Theresa are happily married until an ultimatum is issued that could end there marriage forever. While they are apart, are they truly happy or will they find their way back to each other?
1. Default Chapter

A FEW THINGS: In this story Theresa is married to Fox and has two kids with him, Little Ethan and Danielle. Most of this storyline comes from stories in General Hospital mixed together. Enjoy.  
  
_____________________________________________________________  
  
Theresa couldn't believe this was happening. One event began a whole chain of events and now here she was stuck on a trapped elevator in a burning hotel with none other than Gwen.   
  
"I can't believe this." she finally said aloud.   
  
"Well its happening whether you like it or not." Gwen said snapping at Theresa.  
  
"You know what Gwen, shutup. Just shutup!" Theresa yelled angrily.  
  
"Fine, I'll shutup. Just remember we're trapped in a burning building while I'm quiet." she said sarcastically.  
  
Theresa groaned. "Please don't remind me. What the hell are you doing here anyway? As far as I know you weren't invited to Kay and Miguel's wedding reception."  
  
"Hmm, last time I checked I was sleeping with your husband-soon-to-be-ex-husband Fox." Gwen replied curtly.  
  
Theresa felt a pang in her heart at Gwen's words. She knew it was true and it was all her fault that it was happening. "Just like many women before me, Fox is only letting you into his bed. Not only did I get there, but I got into his heart also."   
  
Gwen rolled her eyes. "And now you're out of both."  
  
"I'm sick and tired of your smartass comments!" Theresa yelled. "The only reason why you're sleeping with Fox is because we're getting a divorce and you want revenge on me. You don't even care about Fox."  
  
"What do you know? I know Fox. He doesn't want any romance, he just wants a partner." she recited.  
  
"You know what, you don't even know my husband! Tell me, do you know why he blocks everyone out? Do you know what happened to him when he was young that made him scared to love? Do you know why he hates his mother?" Theresa said hotly and then pausing. "Obviously you don't, so think twice before you look in my face and tell me that you know one damn thing about my husband."  
  
Gwen had no response and Theresa gave her a dirty stare. When she realized that Gwen wasn't going to say anything she laid her head against the elevator wall and sighed. She then began to think about how this all happened. 


	2. Taking Care of Business

"Mommy, look what I made!" Little Ethan said as he ran into the kitchen.  
  
Theresa looked down at the paper he was holding in his hand and gasped. "Wow!" she exclaimed. "That beautiful."  
  
"I made it for you." he said smiling.  
  
"Well, thank you sir." Theresa said grinning and taking the picture from his hand. "Here, I'll put it on the fridge so I can see it every day."  
  
Ethan smiled and sat down at the table.   
  
Fox soon entered holding their 2 year-old daughter, Danielle.   
  
"Mommy." she said smiling and showing her gap tooth grin.  
  
"Hey sweetie." Theresa said as she took her from Fox's arms and put her in her high chair.  
  
"Do I get a kiss too?" Fox asked jokingly.  
  
Theresa laughed and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "There's plenty more where that came from." she whispered in his ear.  
  
They all sat down to eat dinner and after they ate, they all gathered around the TV in the family room. Theresa and Fox both laughed at Little Ethan's imitation of Tarzan.  
  
Fox cellphone soon interrupted them. "Hello?" he answered.  
  
Theresa looked at Fox and sighed. It was probably a called from Crane Industries telling him that he needed to board a plane right away to God knows where.   
  
Fox hung up the phone and looked over at Theresa. "I have to go on a 2 day business trip in L.A." he said.  
  
"Oh." she replied trying to force a smile.  
  
Fox then turned his attention to his son. "Come here buddy." he called out to Ethan. Ethan quickly jumped up and ran over to him. "Daddy has to go to work for 2 days so can you watch the girls for me?" he asked.  
  
Ethan nodded. "Of course!"  
  
"That's my boy." Fox said proudly as he gave Ethan a high five. Ethan diverted his attention back to the movie and Fox got up to go to the bedroom. Theresa followed leaving Ethan in the room by himself.  
  
"You don't seem too excited about this trip." Fox said to Theresa as he pulled out a suitcase.  
  
"Ok, I'm not going to lie to you." she answered. "I'm not at all."  
  
Fox let out a deep sigh.  
  
"I-I know that it's business and all-"  
  
"-but its sudden." he said completing her sentence.  
  
"Yes." she paused and sat down on the bed. "You've been gone and busy for the past month and just when we have time to spend together you have to leave."  
  
Fox stopped packing and walked over to Theresa. "Look, I hate it too ok, but its my job. We decided for you to be a stay at home mom, so I have to bring in the income."  
  
"But you technically don't have to work since you inherit everything." she replied.  
  
"That's not the way it works, ok? Grandfather worked to make his money and so did Father, so now I have to." he argued.  
  
"But you're not even the CEO of the Crane Industries yet like your Grandfather was and your Father is!"   
  
"You know what, why don't you just let me do my job, ok? You stay at home with the kids and do whatever it is you do all day and I'll go to the office. I let you do your job, so let me do mine!" he yelled.   
  
"Fine." Theresa said quietly fighting back the tears. She hated it when people yelled at her.  
  
Fox winced as the painful look on Theresa's face. "I'm sorry." he apologized. "I don't want to fight with you..I'm just...I'm just really stressed about everything like you are." he said giving her a hug.  
  
"I understand." she responded as she stood up.  
  
"Good." Fox turned around and zipped up his suitcase. "Well I better go now or I'll miss my flight." he said making his way out of the room.  
  
"Don't forget to call me when you get a chance, ok?" she instructed as he made his way to the front door.  
  
"I know I know. I won't forget to eat breakfast either if thats what you're going to say next." he grinned.  
  
"One thing you really suck at is reading minds." she laughed as she stepped closer to him.  
  
"Really? How?"   
  
"I wasn't going to tell you to remember to eat breakfast, although you should-"  
  
"And what were you going to tell me?" he asked smiling.  
  
"That I love you." she answered.  
  
"I love you too, babe." he said kissing her on the forehead. "Now I've got to go!"  
  
"Ok, ok!" she giggled. "Bye."  
  
Fox winked at her and was gone.  
  
Theresa sighed and looked over at Little Ethan. It looked like she was going solo once again tonight.  
  
_________________________________________________  
  
Theresa smiled happily as she and Fox walked out of the Blue Note. Just as they were almost at their car they bumped into Ethan.  
  
"Hi Ethan." Theresa said giving him a quick smile.  
  
"Theresa. Fox." Ethan said nodding at both of them.  
  
Fox look irritated and didn't answer Ethan.  
  
"Fox?" Theresa said turning to look at him. Realizing that he wasn't going to say anything, she looked back over at Ethan. "I see your arm is doing pretty good." she said referring to his arm which was in a cast.  
  
"Oh, yeah..all thanks to you." he said gratefully.  
  
"What do you mean all thanks to her?" Fox said snapping his head around.  
  
"Theresa didn't tell you?" Ethan asked looking from Fox to Theresa.  
  
"No she didn't." Fox said looking at Theresa.  
  
Theresa sighed and thought where to begin.  
  
*FLASHBACK*  
  
Theresa had just dropped Little Ethan and Danielle off at the daycare. As she was walking she heard someone cry in pain. Curious, she made her way to where the sound was coming from to find Ethan laying in a pool of blood.  
  
"Oh my god, Ethan!" she said running over to his side.  
  
"Theresa." he managed to get out.  
  
"What happened? Are you ok? I'm calling an ambulance!" she said as she began to freak out.  
  
The ambulance was there 2 minutes later and Ethan was put on a stretcher and on his way to the hospital.  
  
*END OF FLASHBACK*  
  
"Someone shot him yesterday and I called the ambulance." Theresa answered Fox.  
  
"Oh, really." Fox said looking away.  
  
Ethan broke the silence and said, "I'll see you guys later. Thanks again Theresa."  
  
Theresa nodded and turned her attention to Fox. "Fox, are you ok?"   
  
"Yeah, whatever." he said getting into the car.  
  
"You don't seem ok to me." she replied as he pulled off.  
  
"I said I'm alright, ok!" he suddenly yelled.  
  
Theresa didn't answer and looked out the window. She knew something was bothering him and she was going to find out.  
  
________________________________________________  
  
"Hey man." Fox said as Dylan answered the phone. "You won't believe who Theresa and I ran into today."  
  
"Let me guess, Ethan." Dylan responded.  
  
"Yep." Fox said letting out a sigh.  
  
Theresa hadn't spoken to Fox since the ride home and she was getting a little worried so she decided to check on him. She paused at the door when she heard him talking.  
  
"He was wearing a cast." Fox added.  
  
"Really? I thought that bullet would have taken care of him." Dylan said suprised.  
  
"Yeah, I thought that bullet was going to do the job but it didn't. And get this, Theresa was the one who called the ambulance for him."  
  
Theresa froze. Why would Fox think the bullet that was shot at Ethan should have killed him?  
  
"Talk about irony. Does she know it was you?" Dylan asked.  
  
"Nah, and we have to make sure she doesn't find out either, ok?" he asked.  
  
"Got it. Later man."   
  
"Bye." Fox said hanging up the phone.  
  
The door suddenly flung open and there Theresa stood with so much anger written across her face.  
  
"You want to make sure I don't find out what?" she asked.  
  
Fox gulped and slowly stood up. "Nothing sweetie." he lied.  
  
"Don't lie to me Fox." she said seeing right through him.  
  
"Ok, it's a gift that I didn't want you to know about but now you do, so..."  
  
"Oh, so my gift is you firing a gun at Ethan?" she yelled crossing her arms.  
  
Fox couldn't find any words to say so he said none.  
  
"Is that why you looked so angry when you saw Ethan standing there tonight? Is that why you were angry at me on the ride home because I called the ambulance for him?" she yelled.   
  
Fox still didn't answer.  
  
"Answer me dammit!" she screamed.  
  
"Yes. I was the one who shot him." Fox answered quietly.  
  
"I...I can't believe this." Theresa said putting her hand on her forehead. "Why? You? Why you?"  
  
"Look, he borrowed money from the Industries and was taking long to pay it back, so I had to take some action." he said trying to reason with her.  
  
"What, by trying to kill him? What do you think you are Fox? A mobster?!"  
  
"It's the way the Cranes have always done things." he said letting loose one of the Crane Industries biggest secrets.  
  
Theresa just shook her head as tears began to fall down her face.  
  
"Theresa, I'm so sorry." he said taking a step towards her.  
  
Theresa immediately took a step back. "I don't know what to do." she said shakily.  
  
"You don't have to do anything." he said gently. "I love you."  
  
Theresa looked into his eyes and sighed. "Promise me this will never happen again and that this won't be brought up?"  
  
Fox smiled and stepped closer to her. "I promise."  
  
She smiled back and walked into his arms. She felt bad for knowing the cause of Ethan's injury but she loved Fox too much. She closed her eyes and tried to forget. 


	3. You Get To Me

Theresa fumbled with her keys as she waited on the pier for Ethan. He had called her an hour before and told her to meet him so he could tell her something very urgent. Theresa had left Fox with the kids telling him that she was going out to get a few things. She wondered what this could all be about.  
  
"Theresa!" Ethan said interrupting her thoughts.  
  
"Ethan." Theresa said turning around to face him. "What's so important that you had me leave my family in the middle of the night?" she asked.  
  
Ethan paused and looked down. "You're not going to like this..." he began.  
  
"I'm not going to like what?" she asked curiously.  
  
"Well, I've been doing a little investigation on who shot me and it seems...it seems like Fox was the one who shot me."   
  
"Oh God, he knows." Theresa thought to herself, forgetting to breathe.  
  
Noticing that Theresa was in shock Ethan said, "Theresa, are you alright?"  
  
Theresa just nodded her head and sat down on the nearest bench. If Ethan reported Fox what would happen to him? She had to do something. "You have to be wrong." she finally said shaking her head.  
  
"All evidence points to him." he answered.  
  
"No, Fox was out of town on a business trip that weekend...Maybe someone was trying to frame him." she lied.  
  
"Maybe."  
  
"Look Ethan, not everyone out their likes Fox just as not everyone likes you. I'm sure someone had some good reason to try to frame Fox for something, but I know him Ethan...he didn't do it." she said continuing to lie.  
  
"You could be right." he responded.  
  
"I know I'm right." she said defending Fox. "Fox would NEVER do anything like that. I mean, why would he want to in the first place?"  
  
"Because he knows I still get to you." Ethan said quietly.  
  
"What?" Theresa asked taken aback by his answer.   
  
"I said he know I still get to you." he repeated.  
  
Theresa laughed and stood up. "Ethan, you and I were over a long time ago. I'm with Fox now and there's no going back. Yes, we shared something, but I love Fox and that is that."  
  
"I see." he said a little disappointed. "What...what if I told you that you still get to me?"  
  
Theresa blinked, not knowing how to respond to his question. "Well that wouldn't happen because you're with Gwen."  
  
"No." he said shaking his head. "It is happening. You get to me Theresa. You were the only one who could touch my soul and Gwen hasn't even come close." he took a step closer to her, taking her face in his hands and whispered, "You get to me." he laid a gentle kiss on her lips and closed his eyes.  
  
Nearby, two people watched on as Ethan kissed Theresa. Anger filled both of their hearts and they turned and walked away vowing to seek revenge.  
  
Theresa quickly pushed Ethan away and slapped him. "Did you not hear anything I just said?" she yelled. Seeing that Ethan wasn't going to respond she hotly turned around and walked away.  
  
__________________________________________________  
  
Theresa let out a soft sigh as she let herself into the house and gently closed the door. She was expecting everyone to be asleep but Fox was sitting on the couch as if he had been waiting for her.  
  
"Where were you?" he asked without even looking at her.  
  
"I told you I had to go get a few things." she lied.  
  
"If you went to buy a few things how come you came home empty handed?" he replied slowly turning to look at her.  
  
Caught in her lie, Theresa decided not to go any further and tell him the truth. "Truth is Ethan wanted me to meet him."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Nothing, he just wanted to have a friendly chat." she winced as she lied to Fox.  
  
"Why couldn't you just have the chat over the phone?" Fox questioned, angry that Theresa was lying to him.  
  
"Ok fine, I won't lie to you." she said throwing her hands up. "Ethan told me that he thinks it was you who shot him and I told him it was someone trying to frame you."  
  
"Did he believe you?"  
  
"Yes. There. Are you happy now?" she asked agitated.  
  
"Not until you tell me what else happened." he said sharply.  
  
Theresa remembered the kiss but decided not to tell him. "Nothing."  
  
"Theresa, don't lie to me."  
  
Theresa sighed, thinking of the words to say. "Ok. He-he um...he kissed me, but I pushed him away and told him it could never happen again."   
  
Fox clenched his fists and jumped up from the sofa. "That bastard!" he yelled angrily.  
  
"Fox, its not that serious-"  
  
"It's not that serious?!" he yelled cutting her off. "My half brother kisses my wife and she tells me its not serious!"  
  
Theresa put her hand on her forehead not wanting to start an argument with Fox. "I just don't want to upset you."  
  
"You're too late for that." he said making his way to his office.  
  
Theresa closely followed behind, "Why are you going to your office?" she asked.  
  
Fox didn't answer. He walked over to his desk, pulled open the top drawer, and paused.  
  
"Fox?" Theresa repeated, wondering what he was looking at.  
  
"I should've taken care of this earlier." he said as if he were in a trance.  
  
"Taken care of what?" she asked. She stood behind him to see what he was looking at and gasped. "Fox, don't."  
  
Fox ignored Theresa as he loaded the gun. "I'm going to show him that he is not supposed to mess with anything that's mine."  
  
A scared Theresa watched Fox as he closed the drawer and began to walk out the office. "Fox, no!" she screamed running behind him. "Don't do this!"  
  
"Why? Huh? Give me one good reason why!" he said angrily. Theresa didn't answer and he replied. "See, you can't even give me a reason." he said continuing to walk.  
  
"You're about to commit murder!" she yelled behind him.  
  
"No, I'm just taking care of business." he answered.  
  
"By killing an innocent man? How can you even try to justify that? You're just going to throw your life away!" she argued.  
  
"I thought we already went over this Theresa. I'm doing MY job so stay out of it!" he yelled.   
  
Before Theresa could say anything, Fox was gone.  
  
"No, no, no...this can't be happening." she said to herself. She had to stop him, but how? She finally thought of something and ran over to the phone. She picked it up and dialed a number. "Please answer, please answer." she said as the phone rang. The person finally picked up.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Ethan, it's Theresa." 


	4. A Wife's Betrayal

Theresa quickly walked through the police station. That morning after falling asleep she had gotten a call that Fox had been arrested. Thoughts began to run through her mind. What could have went wrong? She thought Ethan had did what she told him and left so Fox wouldn't have hurt anyone.  
  
"Theresa." Luis said as she appeared around the corner.  
  
"Luis, where is he?" she asked out of breath.   
  
Luis nodded towards the interrogation room and let her in. He closed the door behind her and Theresa walked over to where Fox was sitting.   
  
"Fox, what happened?" she asked.  
  
Fox didn't answer her.  
  
"Fox, are you ok?" she said trying to give him a hug.  
  
Fox moved away.  
  
"Fox, please don't do this." Theresa cried out desperately.   
  
"You did it." Fox said through clenched teeth, angry at Theresa's betrayal.  
  
"I did what?" Theresa asked wanting answers.  
  
"You picked up that phone and called Ethan and it was all a trap."   
  
"What do you mean it was a trap?" she pressed on.  
  
"The police were there waiting for me! Ethan...Ethan had on a bullet proof vest." he said angrily.  
  
"Oh God." Theresa said standing up. "Fox, I swear to you that's not what I meant to happen."  
  
"I don't care if it was what you meant to happen or not! You betrayed me."  
  
"No no no. Fox I didn't betray you." she said in between tears. "I, I called Ethan so that he would leave the mansion so you would get there and see he wasn't there and leave. I didn't want you to throw your life away, Fox."  
  
"Well, here I am." he said bitterly. "Its all because of you."  
  
"Fox, please, please believe me. I would never..." she began to sob hating that Fox believed she betrayed him. She pulled herself together and sat down on the table in front of him. "Look in my eyes." she said softly.  
  
Fox hesitated but did as she said.  
  
"I did not betray you." she said truthfully.  
  
Fox looked in Theresa's eyes and the iron wall that he was trying to build suddenly melted. "God, I'm so sorry that I even thought you did." he said taking her face in his hands and kissing her. "I love you so much that it was breaking me inside to even think that."  
  
"It's ok, we're going to get through this together." she said smiling as she felt Fox's kisses shower her face.  
  
"Look," Fox said stroking her hair, "I want you to take the kids out of the country, ok? I want you to go to one of the vacation houses until all of this is over, alright."  
  
Theresa pulled back and immediately began to shake her head. "No, no. I won't hear of it!" she objected. "I'm staying here with you, you need me."  
  
"Look, the only way that I can make it through this hearing peacefully is knowing that you and the kids are safe. That's all that matters to me." he said pleading with her.  
  
Theresa looked at him and sighed. "Fine. Fine, we'll go. Just promise me you'll be ok."  
  
"I promise." he said kissing her.   
  
They were suddenly interrupted by Woody. "Excuse me but I have a case to put together." he said motioning for Theresa to leave.  
  
Theresa nodded and slowly began to walk to the door. Just as she approached the door she turn to Fox and he mouthed 'I love you' to her. He blew her a kiss and Theresa caught it, promising to forever cherish it.  
  
_____________________________________  
  
Theresa paced back and forth through the hotel suite. It had been two weeks since she had last seen Fox and it was driving her crazy. Her arms felt empty and her heart ached for him. The hearing was taking too long and she was angry that Ethan insisted on pressing charges against Fox. She had to do something. She hated waiting for results when she knew there was something that she could do to get the results she wanted. She quickly picked up the phone and arranged for a babysitter to stay with the kids. She was going to pay a visit to Ethan.  
  
_______________________________________  
  
Ethan sighed as he heard the knock on his door. "Gwen, I told you I'm busy." he said angrily as he took a sip of his drink.  
  
"It's not Gwen." a familiar voice said.  
  
The door suddenly opened and Theresa stood in the doorway. Her eyes were glazed over and she looked as if she were in a trance.  
  
"Theresa." Ethan mumured quickly standing up to greet her. He paused when he looked down at her right hand to see her holding a gun.  
  
"Whoa." he said taking a step back. "Why do you have a gun in your hand?"  
  
A tear rolled down Theresa's face as she looked at him. "Why can't you just leave me alone?" she asked him.  
  
"What?" he asked confused.  
  
"Ethan, I know that you think destroying Fox is a way to get me back..." she said drifting off.  
  
"Look, why don't we talk about this when you're not holding a gun." he said trying to reason with her.  
  
"No." she yelled. "I know what you're up to Ethan. That night that you called me away from my family made me see. You think if you destroy Fox I'll run into your arms."  
  
"Look, Theresa...all I said was that I still care for you-"  
  
"And you care for me by setting my husband up, Ethan? Ethan, I told you to get out of the mansion...hell, out of town if you had to but what did you do? You put on a bulletproof vest and you called the cops. How could you do this Ethan?" Theresa screamed angrily.  
  
"Fox doesn't love you, Theresa. Not in the way that I do." Ethan answered calmly.  
  
"That's where you're wrong. Fox DOES love me, but you're right about him not loving me the way you do. Unlike you, Fox is the only one who can love my heart and soul completely. You never came close and you never will."  
  
"Now that we have that point stated, put the gun down." he said pointing at the gun.  
  
Theresa shook her head and slowly lifted the gun as more tears began to flow. "I'm giving you an ultimatum. Either I kill you right now or you drop all charges against Fox."  
  
"Theresa! That's impossible!" he yelped.  
  
Theresa fingered the trigger, "About me killing you? You don't really need lessons to pull the trigger on a gun, Ethan."  
  
"Theresa, you're just really hurt right now-"  
  
"Stop telling me how I feel! Now answer my ultimatum."  
  
"Fine." Ethan said seeing that she was serious. "I'll drop the charges against Fox."  
  
"Good." Theresa said still not letting go of the gun.  
  
"Did you hear me? I'll drop the charges so put the gun down." he said nervously.  
  
"Not until I see you call the station right here, right now and tell them." she demanded.  
  
Ethan looked at Theresa and sighed. He reached over to the phone and dialed the number to the police station.  
  
"Sam, it's Ethan. Yeah..everythings ok, I just uh, I want to drop charges against Fox....Yes, I'm sure....Yeah, I'm just having second thoughts thats all....Alright....bye."  
  
Ethan turned to Theresa as he hung up the phone. "There."  
  
Theresa closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relief as she put the gun in her purse.  
  
"You're so brave." Ethan said admiring her. "That's what I love about you."  
  
"Thank you Ethan for dropping charges." she said sharply. "It was a pleasure doing business with ya." she flashed a fake smile and quickly left.  
  
________________________________________________  
  
Fox sighed as he threw his keys down on the table. It had been a long couple of weeks and he was glad to finally be home. Suddenly Theresa came bounding down the stairs to meet him.  
  
"Fox!" she said excitedly. She jumped into the arms of a suprised Fox and wrapped her arms around him tight.  
  
"Theresa?" he said letting go. "I thought I sent you out of town."  
  
"I know, but I couldn't stay away." she said smiliing. "I missed you so much."  
  
"I missed you too babe." he said kissing her. "I'm so glad Ethan dropped the charges. I wonder what made him do that."  
  
"Yeah, that was nice of him." she said innocently as she remembered the night before. "But lets not think about that right now."  
  
"Let's concentrate on something else." Fox said as he pulled her lips into a firey kiss.   
  
"The kids are sleep." she said in between kisses.  
  
Fox just moaned as the kisses got more passionate.  
  
Theresa suddenly let go to get a breath of air. "Welcome home." she whispered.  
  
Fox smiled and pulled her into another kiss leaving all his worries behind. 


	5. Letting Go

"Fox, we're ready!" Theresa yelled up the stairs. Fox had finally taken time off work and they were going to take the kids for a walk in the park.  
  
"Mommy, what's taking Daddy so long?" Little Ethan whined impatiently.  
  
"He'll be down here in a few minutes." she replied. "Fox!" she yelled again.  
  
Finally Fox came running down the stairs with his cell phone in hand.   
  
"Are you ready now Daddy?" Ethan asked.  
  
"I hate to do this to you bud, but I can't come." Fox said patting him on the head.  
  
"Why?" Ethan asked disappointed.  
  
"Because I have something really important to do." he responded.  
  
"We're important too!" Ethan yelled.  
  
"Ethan!" Theresa scolded him.  
  
"It's not fair! Everytime we're about to do something you leave!" he screamed at Fox.  
  
Before Fox or Theresa could say anything, Ethan took off his hat and bounded up the stairs, slamming his bedroom door behind him.  
  
"Well, that went smoothly." Fox said to a smiling Danielle.  
  
"Why can't you come?" Theresa asked.  
  
"Alistair needs me at the office."  
  
"Why can't he ask Julian? He knows its your vacation time!" she replied angrily.  
  
"Look, I can't contest whatever Alistair tells me to do. It's my job." he argued.  
  
"Right, and I shouldn't interfere with your job so go ahead, go. I'll make up some lie to tell Ethan about why his father can't spend one day of quality time with him." she said hotly. She turned on her heel and went up the stairs after Ethan.  
  
"How come Daddy's always leaving?" Ethan asked as Theresa entered the room.  
  
Theresa sighed and sat down next to him. "Cause your daddy's a very important person."  
  
"It makes me sad when he's gone." he said. He then laid his head against his mother's shoulder for comfort.  
  
"It makes me sad too." she whispered as she stroked his hair.  
  
"When I get all grown up, I'll never leave you." he suddenly said sitting up.  
  
"Good," Theresa smiled "cause I don't know what I'd do without you."  
  
Ethan gave Theresa a hug and jumped up. "Let's go to the park!"  
  
"To the park we shall go." she laughed chasing him down the stairs. Her smile faded when she saw Fox still standing there. "I thought you had to go to work."  
  
"I um, I called in and told him I wouldn't come." he answered. "Family before work, right?"  
  
Theresa looked at Fox and smiled. The look on Little Ethan's face was priceless.  
  
"Well, we should get going!" Fox said clapping his hands together. He picked up Danielle and Little Ethan followed him out the door. When they were almost in the car they realized Theresa wasn't with them.  
  
"Mommy! Aren't you coming?" Little Ethan asked Theresa who was standing at the door.  
  
"No. You go ahead and have fun." she grinned.  
  
Fox smiled and blew her a kiss. She waved goodbye and whistled as she walked back into the house.  
  
_______________________________________  
  
"Mr. Winthrop." A man said entering Ethan's office.  
  
"Yes?" he asked looking up.  
  
"We've spotted Fox Crane." the man reported.  
  
"Good, now we can carry out our plan. Make sure you make it fast and you go unseen." Ethan ordered.  
  
The man nodded and left to fufill his orders.  
  
________________________________________  
  
Theresa frantically raced through the hospital looking for the room Dr. Russell had told her. "Please don't let it be too late." She jumped over chairs, pushed past nurses, and swerved around people. She couldn't believe this was happening to her. She finally came to a halt when she saw her family and the Cranes gathered around a room. No words could escape her mouth because she was out of breath.   
  
"Is this the room." she panted to Pilar.  
  
Pilar opened her mouth to say something but Dr. Russell came out of the room before she could say anything.  
  
"There you are!" she greeted Theresa.  
  
"Is he..is he ok?" she asked desperately.  
  
Dr. Russell sighed and looked down at her clipboard.  
  
"Oh God, no.....please, don't tell me....." Theresa cried.  
  
"You made it." Fox appeared as he pushed past family members.  
  
"Fox!" Theresa squeezed him tight. "I thought it was you who was in the hospital."  
  
"No, its not me." he answered shaking his head.  
  
"Then who is it?"  
  
"It's Danielle." he said hoarsely.  
  
"Danielle suffered from a bullet to her heart. We tried to remove the bullet, but the damage was to traumatic for her to recover....I'm sorry." Eve reported.  
  
The life was suddenly sucked out of Theresa and she fainted into Fox's arms.  
  
__________________________________________________  
  
Fox closed the door after the last person left. Today had been Danielle's funeral and everyone stopped by to give their sympathy. He looked over at Theresa and it broke his heart to see the state that she was in. Her eyes were red, her nose was puffy and she just stared into space. Fox walked into his office and picked up the phone.   
  
"Whoever did this is going to pay." he said angrily as he dialed Dylan's phone number.  
  
"Were you just about to call me?" Dylan said suddenly appearing.  
  
"Yeah." Fox answered has he hung up the phone.  
  
"Here I am and I've got some information."  
  
"Tell me what you got." Fox replied.  
  
"It was Ethan. Ethan hired someone to shoot at you, things went wrong and your daughter got shot instead." he reported.  
  
Fox angrily hit his fist against his desk. "I'm going to kill that bastard, and this time I mean it!"  
  
"No you're not." Theresa said quietly as she walked into his office.  
  
Dylan looked from Fox to Theresa. "I'll be going man. Sorry about your loss."  
  
"What do you mean I'm not?" Fox asked after Dylan left.  
  
"I thought you would have learned your lesson already about trying to kill someone."  
  
"Theresa, he killed our daughter! She would've been alive if I had killed him last month. Heck, if you wouldn't have called him!" Fox yelled.  
  
"Why do you keep bringing this up?" she screamed.  
  
"Because, a lot of things would be different if you hadn't done that. If you hadn't called him our daughter would still be alive."  
  
"Oh, so now its my fault? Is that what you're saying?" she yelled back.  
  
"No, Theresa I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry." he said getting up to touch her, but Theresa took a step back.  
  
"Don't touch me." she said icily.  
  
"Theresa..."  
  
"It scares me to know that those hands you used to pull a trigger to kill Ethan are the hands that play football with our son.. gawd, the hands that hold me...." she cried. "I told you not to bring the children into this Fox. I thought we made it clear that there was a line between your work and our family but you've crossed the line and now Danielle is dead!"  
  
"Don't blame it on me! You think I wanted this to happen?"  
  
"I don't know what to think anymore...." she paused "This job has changed you. It's like you're a different person now."  
  
"No Theresa, it's still me."  
  
"The old you was caring and compassionate and loving. But now you're violent and explosive and you don't stop at nothing. I tried to stop you from going after Ethan but you didn't stop! How could you try or even think about taking an innocent life?"  
  
"You tell that to Ethan! He's the one who took an innocent life!" Fox yelled.  
  
"Why do you keep trying to justify what Ethan did with what you did?" she screamed. "There is no justification. You both had the same seed of violence in your heart."  
  
"But he killed someone and I didn't! Don't give me that bull crap!"  
  
"ME give YOU bull crap?! Why don't you stop giving bull crap to our son! You tell him you're going to do something with him but then you cancel at the last minute. Do you see what that does to him? Do you see how it breaks his heart even more every time you tell him you can't spend just one minute with him? I'm tired of lying for you and making up excuses why you can't go to the park or play a game with him. I'm tired of waiting up late at night wondering when you're coming home...if you're ok...if you're hurt...I hate what your job is doing to you and our family." she sobbed.  
  
"I know, I hate it too." he said quietly.  
  
"Then quit."  
  
"I can't." he answered.  
  
"Why?" she asked.  
  
"Because its my job!" he boomed.  
  
"Just find another job!"  
  
"Theresa, I've been raised to do this job. I've inherited this job. This job is what makes me a Crane."  
  
"And your job is what is making your family fall apart." she spat angrily.  
  
"Maybe I could take more hours off-"  
  
"No. That's not going to help at all. You're still going to be going after Ethan and other people."  
  
"I can't quit my job, ok!? I just can't. There's no way." he argued.  
  
Theresa looked down at the floor. "Well....you've made your decision, so now I'll make mine.... I'm leaving you."  
  
Fox looked in desperation at Theresa's words. "No Theresa please don't. I love you, you can't leave me."  
  
"Then quit your job." she said softly.  
  
"I can't leave."  
  
"Then I can't stay."  
  
Fox searched Theresa's eyes and saw that she meant what she said. "Theresa...we love each other."  
  
"But sometimes you've got to make sacrifices for the one you love." she replied as tears spilled down her face.  
  
"Theresa..." he cried as he wiped the tears from her face "I don't want to lose you."  
  
"Just because I'm gone doesn't mean I'm lost to you." she answered. "I'll always love you but I can't stay."  
  
Fox sniffed, "I understand."  
  
"Ethan and I will be leaving in the morning." she said quietly. She then turned and began to walk away.  
  
"Theresa." he called after her.  
  
Theresa stopped and turned around.  
  
He slowly made his way over to her. When he reached her he planted a long sweet kiss on her lips. When it was over, neither wanted to move.   
  
"I should start packing." Theresa said after a few moments.  
  
Fox nodded but held on to her hand.  
  
"Fox." she whispered as she looked down at his hand.  
  
Fox closed his eyes as reality hit him. He looked down at the hand of the woman he loved and let it go. As she walked away he cried for his lost love. 


	6. Move Out of My Way

Theresa took a deep breath as she leaned back against the wall. The movers had finally left and her new home was in place. Everything was perfect. The only thing she was missing was Fox. She had said goodbye to him over 12 hours ago and her loneliness was already overtaking her. A tear slid down her cheek at the thought of Fox. Gawd, she loved him so much but she couldn't put herself through the lifestyle that he lived anymore. It was best for Little Ethan, therefore she had to accept it.   
  
A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts and she sluggishly made her way over to the door.  
  
"Hey." Ethan said as she opened the door.  
  
"What are you doing here? I've only been in my new home for 3 hours and you're already bugging me? Geez Ethan, I left Fox. Isn't that enough for you?" she said disgusted at the sight of him.  
  
"You know what I want." Ethan replied letting himself in.  
  
"Actually I don't know what you want. You lost me when you killed my daughter. Is THAT what you wanted?"  
  
"Theresa, that was not my fault ok. It was my gunman's fault, his aim wasn't accurate-"  
  
"I don't give a damn whether his aim was off or right on target. The fact is YOU ordered him to shoot that shot which makes you fully responsible of her death." she said hatefully.  
  
"There's a dinner party tonight. Come with me." he said changing the subject.  
  
"No! Get out of my house now." she yelled as she pointed to the door.  
  
"Fine." Ethan said slowly making his way out. "Fox will be there."  
  
Theresa rolled her eyes as she slammed the door behind him. He made her so angry. Who did he think he was to just come barging into her house like that and inviting her to a dinner party. Ethan's last sentence rang in her head. Fox was going to be there. Maybe if she caught one glimpse of him, just one second in the same room as him..maybe she wouldn't feel as lonely. She closed her eyes and bit her lip. She couldn't resist. She slowly reached for the phone and arranged for a babysitter.  
  
Fox grabbed a drink as he watched everyone dance to the music. He really didn't want to be at this party because Ethan was there and the only thing he wanted to do was go home and try to sleep so he could stop thinking about Theresa. He knew that wouldn't work because she even haunted his dreams. He cursed at himself under his breath, knowing it was his fault that she had left, but he had no choice. If he left the Cranes he would have no way to support his family and he knew that Alistair would see to it that he wouldn't be able to find work.  
  
He looked up to see Gwen enter the room alone. Her dark blue dressed clung to her non-existent curves and her pale skin. He never knew what Ethan saw in her but then he also didn't know what Gwen saw in Ethan. They were perfect for each other. His thoughts were then cut off when something more beautiful entered the room. It was Theresa. She was wearing a stunning red dress that hugged every curve and hump on her body. She looked so breath taking. Fox was prepared to make his way over to her until he saw Gwen approach her. An unpleasant Theresa nodded and the two disappeared.  
  
Theresa turned around on the balcony to face Gwen. "What?"  
  
"You know, its amazing how you have the two most powerful men in Harmony fighting over you. It took Fox longer to be done with you than I thought, and you'll have no chance to be with Ethan because Fox and Ethan will eliminate each other." she commented.  
  
"What do you want Gwen?" Theresa sighed, not in the mood to be badgered about her relationship with Fox.  
  
"I want to know your secret. How you get these men wrapped around your fingers. Tell me, is it some sort of trick you use in bed? Maybe the whole 'I'm a maid's daughter and my father is missing' scenario."  
  
Already fed up with Gwen, Theresa grabbed Gwen's neck and squeezed it tight, showing no mercy. "You know, I thought you would already know not to mess with me Gwen." she whispered in her ear. "If I could beat your ass while I was pregnant, I sure as hell can do it now. Don't underestimate me. Get in my way one more time and you'll regret it. And that's a promise."  
  
Gwen began to choke at the grip Theresa had on her neck. She shook her head in relief as Theresa let go and lesiurely walked away. "We'll see about that." she said after Theresa left. "I'll hit you in the hardest way possible. It'll be so painful, but not physical. I'll make you pay." she schemed.  
  
Theresa took in a deep breath as she re-entered the room. All she wanted to do was say a few hello's and get out without having to talk to Fox. To her disdain, Ethan approached her.  
  
"I see you decided to come." he said pleased that she listened to him.  
  
"On my own free will." she replied looking straight ahead.  
  
"You seem to be in a rush. Are you trying to avoid Fox?" he pressed on.  
  
"Ethan, for once in your life would you just leave me alone?" Theresa snapped at him. Before he could answer she rolled her eyes and made her way out of the room.  
  
"Theresa, wait!" a voice yelled behind her.  
  
"No Ethan. For the last time-" she was cut off when she turned around and realized it was Fox who had called her. "Oh, F-Fox."  
  
"Hi um, is everything ok?" he asked concerned. "I saw you and Gwen arguing..."  
  
"No, everything's fine." she scratched her head. "I was just getting a few things cleared up with her, that's all."  
  
Fox slowly nodded his head, not believing what she was telling him. "So, hows everything going with the house and Ethan?"  
  
Theresa paused as she looked into his eyes. "I haven't even been gone for a day yet, Fox."  
  
"Yeah I know. It feels like its been longer." he replied as he ran his fingers through his hair.  
  
"Ethan likes his new room. He wants to paint it blue." she chuckled.   
  
"Theresa." he said abruptly.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I'm not..I'm not trying to change your mind about your decision but I just want you to know that I'll always be here, ok? I love you no matter what happens, and if you decide to move on, and..and the guy hurts you..I'll kill him. I swear."  
  
"You don't have to worry about me." she shook her head as tears threatened to fall.  
  
"That's what I try to tell myself, but I do...I do worry...and I have a feeling I'll always worry." he said quietly as he looked down at the ground. "W-why are we doing this to each other?"  
  
"I'm doing what's best for Ethan." she whispered as tears fell down her eyes.  
  
"You just love to make her cry, don't you." Ethan's voice suddenly interrupted them.  
  
Theresa quickly began to wipe her face as he appeared. "It wasn't what you think it was, Ethan."  
  
"For once, why don't you accept her decision and leave her alone." Ethan yelled at Fox.  
  
"Ever since when did her decision become your business." Fox asked defensively.  
  
"Ever since you broke her heart-"  
  
"Stop it!" Theresa screamed overtop of them. Not able to find any words to say, she shook her head in disgust and left them alone. 


End file.
